September 14, 2010

US seafood consumption declines marginally in 2009

The average American ate 15.8 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2009, a slight decline from the 2008 consumption figure of 16.0 pounds, according to a NOAA Fisheries Service report on Thursday (Sep 9).

The US continues as the third-ranked country for consuming fish and shellfish, behind China and Japan. In total, Americans consumed a total of 4.833 billion pounds of seafood in 2009, slightly less than the 4.858 billion pounds in 2008.

Shrimp remained the top seafood item of choice for the US at 4.1 pounds per person, a level unchanged since 2007.

The average 15.8 pounds consumed per person in 2009 was composed of 11.8 pounds of fresh and frozen finfish and shellfish, 3.7 pounds of canned seafood, primarily canned tuna, and 0.3 pounds of cured seafood, such as smoked salmon and dried cod. The overall decline in average consumption per American was due to a decrease in canned seafood consumed.

Most of the seafood consumed in the US was not caught in US waters. About 84% of the seafood consumed in the US is imported, a dramatic increase from the 66% just a decade ago.

Farmed seafood, or aquaculture, comprises almost half of the imported seafood. Aquaculture production outside the US has expanded dramatically in the last three decades and now supplies half of the world's seafood demand, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

However, the US aquaculture industry, though vibrant and diverse, currently meets less than 10% of US demand for seafood. Most of the US aquaculture industry is catfish, with marine aquaculture products like oysters, clams, mussels and salmon supplying less than 2% of American seafood demand.